Based on the traffic volume, it's crazy that we have so few Stack Overflow community moderators relative to the site's size and traffic. Numbers in parens, below, are the 1 month visitors from Google Analytics:

meta
(74k)
Joel, Kyle, Tom, Sean

serverfault
(831k)
Kara, Denny, Stefan

stackoverflow
(12.7m)
Bill, Marc

superuser
(1.2m)TheTXI Ivo, Stefan, Diago, HTG

The original thinking was that Joel, myself, Jarrod, and Geoff would be pitching in as moderators, and I desperately try to every day, but I don't think that's enough in practice.

Post an answer if you think you would make a good community moderator. But first, some ground rules:

You may nominate another user who you feel meets the below criteria, but the nomination is invalid until the user him or herself acknowledges the nomination and accepts it by either editing or posting a comment on the nomination to indicate they accept.

You must be a currently registered Stack Overflow user in good standing

You must have at least 7,000 reputation on Stack Overflow.

You exhibit patience and fairness at all times in your questions, answers, and comments.

You lead by example, showing respect for your fellow programmers in everything you write.

You should want the responsibility. This is not an obligation. It's purely voluntary.

Questions on Meta Stack Exchange are expected to relate to the software that powers the Stack Exchange network within the scope defined by the community. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about reopening questions here.
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

24

Can we take this opportunity to remove moderators we don't think did a good job?
–
XMLbogJan 14 '10 at 13:58

13

Wouldn't it be a good idea to let people know that this is happening? Not everybody visits meta (hell, not everybody even knows about meta). Would it be possible to add a banner saying "Elections ahoy! Head over here"?
–
alexJan 14 '10 at 14:00

58

Oh, I see where this is going. Sorry, I cannot be removed as moderator. :)
–
Jeff Atwood♦Jan 14 '10 at 14:00

28

Maybe add 7: must be reasonably thick-skinned. The SO community is generally very professional and civil, but when the fur flies it can get a little ugly - truly the exception, though. In summary, can do points 4 & 5 even when someone is being a complete tit.
–
Marc Gravell♦Jan 14 '10 at 14:56

5

Geez, can't recall seeing any of the current nominees around on SO. I must follow the wrong threads... ;)
–
jalfJan 14 '10 at 15:23

5

SO is self-regulating. Why would we need more mods?
–
BalusCJan 14 '10 at 16:11

33

Just saying, it'd be nice to have moderators in all the timezones, not just US.
–
marcggJan 14 '10 at 16:30

11

Anyone who promises to crack down on the "Give me job-hunting/career advice" questions will get my vote. ;)
–
gnostradamusJan 14 '10 at 17:29

I'm kinda torn here: I'd really like to do this, but at the same time I know I already spend too much time on SO (and I'm not joking about that).
–
Joel CoehoornJan 14 '10 at 17:44

4

Wow, I decided to vote for everybody on here that I recognized. I only recognized one person. And I've been an active participant since the beta on SO.
–
Won'tJan 14 '10 at 17:50

5

If there is a relation between the success of a site and the number of moderators, you'd want to reduce the number of moderators on the other sites, not increase it on Stack Overflow :)
–
AndomarJan 14 '10 at 18:40

17

You should make the Fanatic badge a requirement.
–
deletedJan 15 '10 at 6:15

per an email response to me, Paul just started a new job and won't have bandwidth to become a moderator. He deleted instead of updating to prove a point, since I kinda deleted one of his meta posts. (Don't worry, we have since reconciled via email..)
–
Jeff Atwood♦Jan 16 '10 at 18:39

38 Answers
38

I have been an active contributor to Stack Overflow in the past; anyone who's followed the java tag (or is active on Meta) probably recognizes my name. Recently I've had less time to answer, so I end up hanging out in either the newest questions page or the moderation tools.

Why would I be a good moderator?

I like to keep things in line. That's also why I like being a programmer, coincidentally.

I always try to be tactful. More than once I've made a comment and then realized it could be taken two ways, so I deleted it. I try never to engage in snarky commenting, funny as it may seem to other people.

As an example, I earned a Reversal badge for this answer to a do-my-homework question.

If I have a difference of opinion with other people, my first instinct is to assume I'm wrong. Only when I'm sure of myself do I take action. For this reason, I rarely cast the first close or delete vote on a question. If the ideal moderator does as little as possible, I'm the perfect one for the job.

I'm also a moderator on a game forum, so I have some experience dealing with spam and unruly users. Since I am also one of the game's creators, I also know not to say too much from a position of "power".

Why would I be a bad moderator?

Frankly, I don't know. And maybe that is itself the biggest argument against me.

Edit: I also have a tendency to make corny jokes in comments. I promise will try to keep them to Meta, though.

On the down side, your Gravatar is excruciatingly boring. Change it to a pic of Dennis Rodman and you'll get my vote. =)
–
JohnFxJan 15 '10 at 16:03

1

@Paul McMillan: Yes, otherwise the only good moderator is a dead moderator.
–
mmyersJan 15 '10 at 16:11

2

+1. I don't know how to say this. I would be glad to have you in the moderators team, but if that happen, I would ( also ) like you to show your real name and your photo ( at least some real name ) I don't know, but, I feel that if you don't do it, you're hiding something. Anyway, it may be just me.
–
OscarRyzJan 15 '10 at 19:50

9

That is my real name, or at least part of it. I guess I could go with M. Myers, but I hate to change a (somewhat) established identity. Look at Kyle Cronin; nobody knows who he is now.
–
mmyersJan 15 '10 at 23:04

1

I can only recall one interaction with mmyers, but I would hope a moderator would be more impartial towards users than I saw him be.
–
Tom RitterJan 28 '10 at 18:08

You fixed grammar on so many of my posts with patience and provided insightful answers all across the ruby/rails tags... I wish I could upvote you more ! You definitively got my vote.
–
marcggJan 15 '10 at 10:25

I would like to put forth myself as a candidate to be a Stack Overflow moderator. As a moderator here on Meta, I've had the opportunity to get experience with the moderator tools and when and how to use them effectively.

Several people are voting down nearly everyone in this thread - check out the vote splits. It's not you personally, they are simply voting up the one or two people they like, and voting everyone else (whether they know them or not) down.
–
Adam DavisJan 14 '10 at 20:15

2

Well, since you asked... I agree with both of your cons (especially your lack of activity on SO), and the whole "personal details" thing kinda rubs me the wrong way - my opinion of you as a moderator is based on the actions you take or don't take, not how much irrelevant personal information you care to share. Transparency means being open about your actions here, not whatever you do outside of SO. Mostly though, I'm just maximizing the value of my up-votes - as Pollyanna notes, it's worth down-voting users you didn't vote up if they have a reasonable chance of getting voted up.
–
Shog9♦Jan 14 '10 at 20:58

1

@Kyle: actually, I emphasized it because it's easy to point to stuff that moderators do on SO: closing, locking, deleting, etc... it's the stuff they don't do - flame-wars they stay out of, slights or insults left unrevenged, questions left open/closed - that, for me at least, illustrates the kind of restraint I expect from a moderator. Truth be told though, the deciding factor for the people i've up-voted here today has been the presence of frequent non-personal edits in their recent activity lists - that shows a willingness to participate in the site even when it won't gain you any rep.
–
Shog9♦Jan 14 '10 at 21:15

2

+1. I honestly would have nominated myself as well but my 1000+ rep points on SO is not enough motivation.
–
DiagoJan 14 '10 at 21:52

3

Kyle would make a good mod so I raise you +1
–
Chris SJan 15 '10 at 0:08

3

+1 I'd never really heard of Kyle but his efforts on Meta as a moderator have left a good impression with me. Thoughtful, even-tempered, considereate.
–
cletusJan 15 '10 at 1:28

I fairly assess each question on its own merits (a quick glance at any of my answers on Meta should confirm that).

I care about Stack Overflow. I spend most of my time on Stack Overflow playing to my strengths: Clarifying bad questions, closing questions that cannot be saved, and re-opening questions that are misunderstood. In all cases, I try to use good editing to make Stack Overflow a 'better place'.

I believe very strongly in fairness.

Reasons why I'm a bad choice:

I take a position. I normally don't waffle on a position. I will change my position if it's logically in error.

I tend to be very direct. Not harsh, but I believe in direct language. If you're wondering how direct I am, a quick look at any answer I've posted on meta should be an indicator of how I communicate.

Ironic Note is Ironic:

Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. - Douglas Adams

One does not simply vote for Gortok. His answers are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with questions, answers, and comments. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand rep could you do this. It is folly.
–
Adam DavisJan 14 '10 at 19:41

6

-1 An abrasive, polarizing figure at the center of way too many edit wars to be considered mature and even-tempered. Sorry.
–
cletusJan 15 '10 at 1:25

My "Resume-Style" Pros:

Strong Participant - I'm on Stack Overflow every day and steadily throughout the day. I have my Fanatic badge and keep on top of meta discussions. I listen with eager attention to all the Stack Overflow Podcasts and blogs, so I have a deep understanding of how (and, more importantly, why) Stack Overflow works.

Experience with Moderator Tools - I am a administrator in the StackExchange beta so I am already familiar with the moderator tools and how everything works behind the scenes.

Industry Experience - I started my first BBS in 1980, and have been building "online communities" ever since. I have run some of the largest systems in their class. I used to give seminars on "Concepts of Cyberspace" where I developed a deep understanding of what builds (and, more importantly, destroys) online communities.

I am Self-Employed - I am around during the workday when Stack Overflow is the busiest, but I am also around to fill in those holes during off-peak hours.

My *Real* Pros:

Hands-Off Approach - I believe Stack Overflow is designed to be run by everyday users. Moderators are there to step in where users cannot (technical limitations) or will not (mass hysteria, mob rule) act in accordance with Stack Overflow's continued success.

Strong-But-Balanced Business Sense - I'm here to keep Stack Overflow healthy and pain-free. I've been a programmer, a business owner, and a community builder. I want everyone to have fun but I know where to draw the line so Stack Overflow doesn't devolve into... well, Yahoo! Answers or YouTube comments.

Strong Opinions, Weakly Held - I will operate under a well-define set of guidelines and principles. I try to be consistent but, when presented with a well-thought-out argument, I am quick to re-evaluate and change my perspective, when appropriate.

I'm No Stack Overflow Fanboy - I don't get caught up in the power trips or get swept up in OS and technology wars. Truth be told, I'm more interested in the usability and motivations which makes the Stack Overflow community work.

I'm highly sceptical of all users having more rep on meta than on stackoverflow. ;)
–
Georg SchöllyJan 17 '10 at 17:04

7

... Many of the folks nominated here are pretty awesome; very active in the community. But consider also, when you promote one of your top contributors, you lose that contributor. They stop contributing in the same way and spend more time policing the system. It's like turning your star programmer into a project manager. I contribute wherever I can but my real contribution is where I can help behind the scenes, making sure Stack Overflow keeps making you guys look good.
–
Robert Cartaino♦Jan 18 '10 at 3:27

2

I might even vote for you considering that answer. :)
–
Georg SchöllyJan 19 '10 at 17:58

4

@Robert (re "They stop contributing in the same way") I'm not 100% sure you can make that claim... I'm pretty sure I still contribute a little bit.
–
Marc Gravell♦Jan 19 '10 at 19:40

That's a bit harsh on RichB. I've had my run-ins with him but he's no more opinionated than many types I have to deal with at work. And opinionated doesn't always mean wrong.
–
paxdiabloJan 18 '10 at 13:17

2

@pax Its a joke. RichB reminds me of my id unleashed with a bad case of f-it-all. In other words, I liked him. Wonder why he zoomed off to never-never land? I know he had his run-ins with management, but I thought that got dealt with...
–
Won'tJan 18 '10 at 17:39

Along with Dharmesh Shah, I co-host the StackExchange-based Answers.OnStartups.com. We've built a great community there, as you can see by checking out a few random questions and answers.

This demonstrates I have the skillz to be fair and develop a quality culture.

Long-time User

I was a beta-tester at SO and have seen the site and culture evolve. I've followed the blog and participated in the discussions so I also have a deep understanding of why the culture is what it is, and therefore how to encourage it without discouraging participation.

I'm disappointed; I saw your formatting and thought you'd written a nomination in haikus.
–
mmyersJan 14 '10 at 22:03

1

David, I appreciate the comments and the nomination, but honestly I'm probably not a good choice simply because I haven't been spending as much time on SO lately. I do heartily endorse Paul Tomblin, Welbog, George Stocker, and of course Chet A (keep scrolling...) - fine, community-minded users all of them!
–
Shog9♦Jan 14 '10 at 23:39

6

To be honest, shog9 has a habit of rubbing people the wrong way and taking things a bit too personally, which I guess is your choice. They're not great moderator qualities though. Sorry.
–
cletusJan 17 '10 at 1:50

3

I love you too, cletus. Thought it does worry me a little bit that you're out there down-voting posts just because I edited them... ;-)
–
Shog9♦Jan 17 '10 at 2:27

You can see me at my worst in the edit history of "Add the ability to ignore users". I wrote that after getting very frustrated in a comment thread with he-who-shall-not-be-named. After editing out the offensive stuff, though, it is now a very highly-rated suggestion on Meta Stack Overflow.

I hold the record for most downvoted answer on Stack Overflow. (The afore-mentioned 256-is-a-round-number answer.)

In my defense, Jeff and/or Joel encouraged everyone to downvote that answer on one of the early podcasts. The goal was to keep the question's score at exactly 256. It is currently approaching 1024 votes. ;)

I would like to nominate Gumbo. Just cause I think he is a nice guy and he once took a long time to help me with a problem I was having in the comments of an answer, even though he didn't get any "rep" from it.

I'm sure he would do his best to help people and be the best moderator he could be.

There are a few people who, instead of upvoting people they like, are downvoting everyone else. And a few who are doing both. Either way, don't take it personally. Votes on Meta aren't real anyway, Jeff buys cut-rate faux-votes here, because they're cheaper and no one seems to notice or care.
–
Adam DavisJan 14 '10 at 18:29

2

ok Gumbo confirmed that he would like to be eligible (via email), so this is valid
–
Jeff Atwood♦Jan 29 '10 at 16:43

+1 Dave is very knowledgeable about Apple stuff, and willing to learn from others about anything else.
–
alesplinJan 14 '10 at 16:23

2

+1 As someone who spends most of my time in Apple-related tags as well, it would be great to have someone to watch over said tags closely. Dave is sharp, always quick to answer a question (he usually beats handily in the race), and is thoughtful in his responses. Plus, he can write and spell properly. :-)
–
Quinn TaylorJan 14 '10 at 18:22

1

Interestingly, I think why you say you would be a bad choice, might make you a good choice...I suspect it's probably a good thing to have moderators with different foci.
–
beskaJan 21 '10 at 22:15

1

Dave is well respected in the Utah iPhone community. People go to him for the more difficult questions. Highly recommend.
–
touchopiaJan 22 '10 at 17:35

I must say though that I find it entirely odd that the system of choosing new moderators involves the potential candidates nominating themselves, I'm rather used to others nominating them, and them then being asked afterwards.

But it is what it is, so here I am, and doing my part (which is volunteering). Now you do your part and vote me up or down.

I would like to nominate myself (jjnguy) as a Moderator of Stackoverflow.

As a moderator I will give free cake to all. That is all.

Oh, and one more thing:

I have been a very active member since the private beta. I am a very old member. (2598) I have seen the site grow and change into what it is today. I know how everything works and how the community feels about it.

As a student I offer a different perspective on matters than some of my older peers on this site; this could be a valuable point of view for the moderator team.

Although my actual question answering rate has declined since my hay-day, I still visit the site (and meta) every day and watch new questions as they flow in. (Or 30 times a day...)

And don't forget about the cake.

Last thought:
I don't see SO as a game. I see it as a question and answer website and would moderate it as such. My goal as moderator would be to promote great answers to great questions.

The guys have been twisting my proverbial arm on Wave to get me to nominate myself. I consider that to be community nomination.

So here's my nomination (copying Gortok's style):

Welbog, triumphant master of time

Reasons why I'm a good choice:

I know the Stack Overflow system well, its bugs and its various flows to be able to determine if something is an error and how to correct them.

I'm on good terms with the other SO moderators (except for that dick Jeff)

I take the time to answer questions making sure that they're actually answered instead of just dropping a "use jQuery" bomb and running off.

I know how to make really good French toast.

Everybody loves RaymondWelbog!

I'm not scared of making decisions and I'm not scared of admitting my decisions are wrong (which they never are, by the way).

Reasons why I'm a bad choice:

I'm abrupt.

A lot of the time I can be pretty long-winded, y'know? Y'know.

I have a very different approach to moderation than Atwood has. As I'm sure you've seen in my constant disagreements with him. But that just means that, if elected, I'll be here to make sure the other moderators don't let power get to their heads. I hate abuse of power, and so I'd make sure to use my moderating fist of justice only for good. With great lasers come great responsibility, afterall.

I am dreadfully afraid of bees. Seriously those things creep me out.

Ironic note is ironic:

Welbog once made a laser so big that even he couldn't blow a hole in a donut with it. - Orange Catholic Bible

I am already somewhat versed in the mod tools, as I am a mod on an SE site (Auto-Gurus).

I have great Google-fu for finding duplicates

I am well-versed in .NET technologies (so evaluating those questions is easy), and moderately well-versed in Apple's development stack (Objective-C, Cocoa, Cocoa-Touch).

Reasons I'm a bad choice:

I'm on the lower end of the acceptable rep level (~7,900 as of this morning; yes my Meta rep is approaching singularity with my SO rep, how sad is that)

I do not always toe the "party line" regarding SO's management techniques. (IE, I have disagreed with not only the management here, but even some of the mods on occasion.)

I'm opinionated. (Though I try not to be a jerk about it.)

I change my name on Meta a lot. (However, I'd consider reverting it back to John Rudy, and leaving it there if elected.)

Ironic note is ironic:

John's current record for cigar smoking is a whopping 5 in one day. He did this whilst also enjoying fine bourbon, and writing code. -- The Book of John, 24:7

Update

Jinguy seems to be very successful with his offer of cake bribery. (Hey, I upvoted him for it, I'm not going to lie.) Thus, I now cow to that lowest common denominator. I can't promise you tax cuts, but if elected, merely contact me, and I will happily send you a good cigar. If you do not like cigars, I will e-mail you back a limited-edition (well, as much as bytes on the Internet are limited) picture of a cigar!

I'd offer bourbon or absinthe, but I expect that will get very expensive, very quickly. :)

@Shog9, JonB: i'm'o hafta shootchoo both for slanderin' my fave-o-rite whiskies. you know some days are bourbon days, and some are scotch days. and then there's those days you need the Blues Drink: one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer. (walk into a bar sometime and order a Blues Drink. note the look of pure unadulterated joy on the bartender's face when you explain it to them.)
–
quack quixoteJan 17 '10 at 4:01

@cletus: I don't really participate much on meta, most of my focus is on Stack Overflow. And I didn't see your joined account on Stack Overflow, so I really don't know what you are referring to. Are you sure you have the right guy?
–
Nick BerardiJan 15 '10 at 14:07

Ash has been a very knowledgeable and stable member of SO for some time; I've read a fair few of his answers and they appear knowledgeable, well thought out, and above all even-handed even in his approach to comments he's disagreed with.

PS. Now we just need to make Ash aware of his nomination to see if he'd like to accept the "opportunity".

PPS. Really think mods should not be able to nominate themselves, it's just not polite.

Not only does he have a great handle, but he is very active in the database related questions. Does great editing of question syntax when needed and seems to always be hanging around and helping out. Might as well make it official and put him on the "payroll".

I'd like to nominate myself. I am a huge fan of Stackoverflow, both its philosophy and implementation and would be grateful to be able to contribute back further by becoming a moderator.

I try to be fair, reasonable and polite in all my comments/postings, though of course I'm not perfect and sometimes I screw up just like anybody else. However I think I am good enough at the wetware side of things to be able to handle that fairly and reasonably.

I've worked my way up to over 10k rep so I feel I've shown that I can use the site and clearly haven't been an unreasable fellow to get here in the first place. I started with the beta so I've been here from very early on and understand how the site works well by now. Additionally I have a certain degree of mod powers already which I think I have deployed reasonably and fairly.

Obviously it's up to the public to decide, however I humbly submit a few of my questions and answers to give you an idea of what I'm about, both the good and the bad.

"But I don't want to go among mad
people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you
can't help that," said the Cat: "we're
all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you
wouldn't have come here."

Alright, at the risk of being mauled I'll throw in my own self-nomination as well. I'm a very active SO user (mainly traveling in the .NET and SQL Server circles, though I'll dip my toes outside on occasion), and I generally feel like I'm a pretty level-headed person when it comes to evaluating questions and answers (and producing answers myself).

Since everyone's been doing bullet points, I'll follow suit:

Reasons I'd Make a Good Moderator

Very active in the community (though I would imagine this is true of anyone who nominates himself)

Try to help out new and inexperienced users with formatting, subject, and structural corrections

Keep a level head (most of the time!) when it comes to the not-infrequent internet $%^&-measuring contests that take place in the comments section

Great spelling skeelz.

I'm not particularly aware of any reasons that I should not be a moderator (though that certainly doesn't mean they can't exist!), otherwise I wouldn't be applying.

I have been a member of SO since September 2008. I am practically on the site all the time. I always try to be helpful and polite. I close a lot of questions and able to determine if something needs to be closed right away. I try to be well versed and I try to listen as best I can to help any problem.

My mission in life is very similar to SO - share your knowledge. Why should one brain store everything?